Ice fishing is a very popular sport. Typically, ice fishing involves venturing out onto the frozen surface of a lake or river. A hole is typically drilled through the ice to access the water beneath the ice. A fishing line with a baited hook or lure attached to one end is then dropped through the hole in the ice in an attempt to catch fish that are living and swimming below the frozen surface.
Many different types of devices are used to catch fish during the ice fishing season. These devices include fishing poles or jigs and tip-up devices. Shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a typical prior art ice fishing tip-up device 100. Tip-up device 100 includes a base member 102, a flag pole assembly 104 and a swinging arm and spool assembly 106. Base member 102 is designed to sit on the ice over the opening or hole in the ice and includes a pair of longitudinal leg members 108, 110 and a pair of end cross members 112, 114 connecting the ends of leg members 108, 110 to each other. A central opening 116 is disposed in the center of base member 102 between leg members 108, 110 and end cross members 112, 114. Protruding upward from cross member 112 at one end of base member 102 is a flag pole assembly mounting member 118 which in this case is a cylindrical shaped stud or spindle member.
Flag pole assembly 104 includes a cylindrical flagpole 120, a colored flag 122 mounted on one end of flagpole 120, and a resilient mounting member such as, for example, a spring 124, mounted on the opposite end of flag pole 120. Spring 124 is disposed to slidably engage with flag pole assembly mounting member 118 to movably secure flag pole assembly 104 to base member 102 in the prior art tip-up shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
Arm and spool assembly 106 includes a swinging arm or rod 126, a cylindrical swivel mounting member 128, a reel or spool 130 and a t-shaped flagpole engaging finger or member 132. Swinging rod 126 is perpendicularly disposed through an opening 134 in swivel mounting member 128 and is secured to swivel mounting member 128 at a desired position using, for example, a set screw 144 (see FIGS. 20 and 21). The ends of swivel mounting member 128 are in turn rotatably secured to base member 102 by being disposed in complementary cylindrical openings 136, 138 in each of leg members 108, 110 respectively. In this way, arm and spool assembly 106 can swing from a horizontal position, the desired position during storage of tip-up 100, downward through central opening 116 to a vertical position, the desired position when tip-up device 100 is in use.
Mounted on the lower end (when swinging rod 126 is in the vertical position) of swinging arm 126 is spool 130. A length of fishing line 140 is wound around spool 130 with one end of the line attached to spool 130. A fish hook 142 is attached to the other end of fishing line 140 for use in catching fish. Mounted to the opposite end of swinging rod 126 is flagpole engaging member 132. Flagpole engaging member 132 is disposed on this end of rod 126 to engage with flagpole 120 when flagpole assembly 104 is in the horizontal or substantially horizontal “non-strike” indicating position (see FIG. 1). The “non-strike” indicating position is the position of flag pole assembly 104 prior to the occurrence of a fish strike.
The operation of prior art tip-up device 100 will now be described. During normal set-up, tip-up device 100 is disposed over the opening or hole in the ice with arm and spool assembly 106 disposed in a vertical position. In this position, rod 126 extends downward through central opening 116 in base member 102 and downward through the hole in the ice. In this position, spool 130, which is fixedly mounted to the lower end of rod 126, is disposed in the water below the ice surface with fishing line 140 and baited hook 142 attached thereto and in a position to receive a fish strike.
Flag pole assembly 104, meanwhile, is disposed in the horizontal or substantially horizontal “non-strike” indicating position above central opening 116 and is held in this position against the tension of spring 124 by engagement of flagpole 120 with flagpole engaging member 132 as is shown in FIG. 1. Tip-up device 100 is now set-up and ready to receive a fish strike.
In use, a fish, striking baited hook 142, causes fishing line 140 to unwind from spool 130. The unwinding of fishing line 140 from spool 130 causes spool 130 and attached swinging rod 126 to rotate. The rotation of rod 126 causes flagpole engaging member 132 to also rotate which in turn causes flagpole engaging member 132 to disengage from flagpole 120. Flagpole 120, which is under tension from spring 124, is now free to swing from its horizontal or substantially horizontal non-strike indicating position to a vertical “strike” indicating position (see FIG. 2).
It should be noted that because of the spring tension being applied to flagpole 120 by spring 124 when flagpole engaging member 132 first disengages from flagpole 120, flagpole assembly 104 actually “wiggles” back and forth on either side of the vertical strike indicating position before eventually settling down into its final steady-state vertical strike indicating position. In the vertical strike indicating position, colored flag 122 is visible to the fisherman and provides a manual indication and notification to a fisherman viewing the tip-up that a fish strike has occurred.
Prior art tip-ups of the type described above and shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 suffer from a major drawback however. In order for a fisherman to be notified that a fish strike has occurred, the tip-up must be within visible sight of the fisherman. This can be difficult if the fisherman is located at a great distance from the tip-up, or if the weather is bad such as in snowy conditions when it may be difficult to view the tip-up flag through the snow. The problem becomes even worse if the fisherman can not view the tip-up, for example when the fisherman is inside of a warming structure such as an ice shack or shanty, or when the fisherman is fishing at night in the dark.
It is desirable, therefore, to have an ice fishing tip-up that provides a notification or alert of a fish strike that can be more easily seen by a fisherman. Preferably, the ice fishing tip-up will also provide a notification or alert of a fish strike without having to be visually seen by the fisherman.